Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Swarovski Rainbow Bangle, currently $140 on their web site, from their "Swing, Sing and Shine"2012 Summer collection.
I am utterly and totally in love with this. I am really not the jewelery type AT ALL, but when I do find pieces I like, I just completely fall for them. Unfortunately it seems as a lot of other people fell for this too as it seems to be sold out everywhere on-line and in their stores too.

TopShop Artist Crochet Ankle Boots - £78 , in white or black.

When I was in my very early teens I did my DIY crochet boots, I had a pair of black suede flat ankle boots and just glued a big piece of black crochet that one of my grandmothers had made for me. As most of my shoes, I was completely in love with them and wore them until they just started falling apart and couldn't be repaired anymore. When I saw these on the Top Shop website a while ago, I almost cried as they really are a dead ringer for my old boots. I am aware that these white ones would be a complete nightmare to keep candid. I think these or the black ones could be an all year round choice, in Ireland anyway.

River Island Blue Floral Print hidden heel High Tops, £40.00.
Again I've had my eyes on these for WEEKS and I don't think I have to explain these: wedges, high tops, blue with baby blue flowers - me in shoe form. I reckon matching dark blue laces would work just as well. Although these are clearly a spring/summer choice, I would be tempted to wear them in winter too, they are TOO pretty!

New Look, Mink Brown Contrast Waterfall Biker Jacket, £39.99

New Look, Chi Chi Black Embellished Bodycon Dress, £54.99

Lipsy, sapphire wedge boots, €105

Cafè Noir

MAC Extra Dimension Skinfinish in Whisper of Gilt and Superb, €28

Illamasqua, Stance and Nomad nail varnishes

Konad nail stamping plates, not this one specifically, for someone who can't paint details due to her eyes, these would help immensely, and also save A LOT of time

Also I have been longing for a few holo nail polishes recently, there are too many to list.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Body hair: probably the ONE biggest nuisance for women (after men/women, that is).
And just like any other woman, hair removal is just one of those personal care rituals that we all really wish we could skip....unless you and your skin can afford permanent hair removal treatments, in which case I am SUPER jealous of you.

I was a REALLY early developer and so my first hair removal experience was at the age of 11 and because I was way too scared to try shaving, I used a cream. Because summer in my home town pretty much lasts from April to October, I got through TONS of hair removing cream and when eventually I got tired of having to sit still for half an hour 2 to 3 times a week, I just naturally glided to shaving.
I have tried waxing and the good old silk epil but because my skin is too sensitive and my hair is too thick, those were just quickly discarded.
In my late teens I also tried laser removal and it scared me enough not to ever try it again in my life, sure hair didn't grow back for 2 months...but that's down to the second degree burns the treatment gave me.
So it's safe to say shaving is my number one method, much to my annoyance.

When I was in Italy for my photo shoot last September, a friend of mine actually pushed me to try the Veet minimising cream, as I honestly hadn't really heard much about it here in Ireland.

Effectively I have been using this for about 7 months, on and off, not a daily basis as recommended by the brand. To be totally honest I wasn't really expecting anything at all from this, as I now tend to be VERY skeptical when it comes to "non-aggressive" hair removing products.

Application: the one aspect I REALLY don't like about the product is its consistency, it's REALLY runny, and you need to be careful or the product will splatter all over your bathroom floor. Also because the lid top is flat, it always ends up covered in product which I have to wipe away and ends up being wasted. I apply this after showering and I was very surprised to see that it didn't irritate my skin at all; after shaving I always have to be extra careful with what moisturiser I use, especially on stretch marks.
As for its "extra" moisturising powers, they are not actually THAT strong. I always have to mix in another moisturiser as otherwise my legs would be quite dry the morning after.
As I have mentioned above, I don't use this every day nor every time I shave, HOWEVER I have noticed my hair is nowhere as thick as it used to be before I started utilising this, and I also notice the difference between when I apply it after shaving and when I don't. It also makes for a much less annoyingly itchy stubble as well.
I think it could be improved by thickening it a bit and making it more moisturising.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Hello people of the world!!
I have something REALLY interesting to capture your attention today and it's got to do with the super luscious French brand L'Occitane.
They have teamed up with sight loss groups all over the world and brought us a gorgeous smelling honey candle.

ONE HUNDRED percent of the proceeds will go to sight loss charities.

In the UK the candle is £13, available in their boutiques/counters and online, and it will all go towards helping the Royal National Institute of Blind People. I personally know quite a few people (with my condition and not) that have benefited, and still do, from their help. In particular the funds raised from the sale of the candle will help the RNIB Trainee Grade Scheme which provides paid work experience placements to unemployed blind and partially sighted people. For more info on the scheme, visit their page .

In the U.S.A. it is $10 and available at boutiques/counters (it doesn't seem to be on their website). In the Sates their charity of choice is Helen Keller International . You will be helping the ChildSight Program, which was initiated in 1994 and since then the program has provided more than 150,000 pairs of eyeglasses to
correct low vision, and screened more than 1.2 million American children stricken with poverty.

In Italy for €14 you will be able to help local associations that deal with blind and partially sighted people. You can find the candle in your local counters or online .

For a while now I have been on the hunt for a pair of hi top wedges. I used to have a pair years ago when I was a teenager, if I remember correctly they were from American Eagle. I wore them until one day I came home from school and found out my mother had thrown them out, they were ridiculously worn out but I didn't have the guts to part with them.
You can imagine my delight when Isabel Marant and Ash decided to bring them back, although I wasn't too keen on their prices.
I spotted a few high street brands doing their own version and I had my heart set on these ones:

I searched long and hard for them but wasn't successful. Sad face.
In the end I decided to buy these:

I got them from iClothing and I picked this colour as I thought they could easily bring me into winter. They seemed made from a rather soft sued so I spray protected them straight away. I've only had them for a couple of days but they are super comfy so far.

During my recent visit back home I was a very good girl and only came back with 2 new beauty products. I really like KIKO, they push for bright colours, innovation and high end quality, with low end prices. Whenever I go home I try to visit 1 of the 2 shops about half an hour from my home town.

This time I took advantage of the €2.50 nail polish sale they were having in the shop (now also available online for a few selected European countries and the UK, just visit KIKOcosmetics.com ). I picked up n. 330 Lilac and n. 358 Peach (although it's more of a bright orange in my opinion).
I always used to have a love/hate relationship with their nail polishes but at last they changed their formula and the brush and now they are an absolute dream to apply! You can easily get away with just one coat, the brush is flat and REALLY precise and it dries REALLY quickly - and I do mean dry, dry, not stay tacky for hours afterwards.

I then proceded to use a multi colour shimmering foil over the nails. I wanted to go for a subtle shimmer, not my usual love for glitter. it worked perfectly fine, however I had major troubles trying to capture the different colours of the foil, and believe me I tried EVERY possible light!
So here's a photo

And my only option to show you all the pretty shimmer properly, was to take a short video

I am UTTERLY in love with these 2 colours! Although next time I will try the foil on a darker polish, maybe it'll show better.
Ya like?